Coach Massimino

" Unremarked upon in Saint John’s fan forums – where this Sunday morning I was treated to an amusing essay the gist of which was that negroes who play in the NBA go broke because they spend too much money tricking out their Escalades – was Rollie Massimino, who on Wednesday won the 800th game of his illustrious career when the Keiser University Seahawks defeated Trinity Baptist University 77-47, making the 82 year-old Massimino only the third active college basketball coach with 800 wins, Mike Scherwrenky and Jim Boeheim being the other two. And what a long strange trip it’s been. Massimino first coached at Stony Brook – the Seawolves, which almost brings him full circle but not quite – in 1969. Despite having no college coaching experience and being a Rutgers graduate he had immediate success, going 34 and 14 in two years before moving on to Villanova University after a year as an assistant to former Piston coach Chuck Daly, then at Pennsylvania University. Massimino won 300 plus games at Villanova in 19 years, including an improbable national championship in 1985, the year Saint John’s made its only final four in the modern era and its first since Democrats elected former Ku Klux Klan member Harry Truman president of the United States. It turns out that that championship was the apex of Massimino’s career – and the glory from that dimmed somewhat when it was revealed later that most of Massimino’s players were degenerate junkies who were snorting cocaine in the locker room at halftime. Massimino resigned from Villanova in 1992 to take the head coaching job at UNLV, where he was a respectable 35-21, but was fired after it was discovered that – in an ironic turn – Massimino was receiving payments under the table from the university president. After Nevada Massimino turned up at Cleveland State where he was a moribund 90 and 113 and where once again his players ran amok, forcing Massimino to resign amidst allegations of drug abuse, criminal behavior and academic fraud. In 2006 after a three year hiatus Massimino took the coaching job at Kaiser – then Northwood University, the Timberwolves, not the Seawolves – where his record stands at 245 and 61: he’s won 30 games three times, never lost more than 9 games in a season and made the NAIA tournament every year, including a loss a few years back in the national championship to powerhouse the Oregon Institute of Technology Hustlin’ Owls. Congratulations Rollie"

... and RIP

http://www.bigeastboards.com/?p=629
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“He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone.” Besides, he was Sicilian. Pass.
 
I absolutely loved him as a coach at Villanova. His teams were very well prepared and played hard. I thought he recruited as well as he possibly could and it was always a pleasure to watch his teams play and too simultaneously view his animated character. It was too bad he left Villanova as he never was able to remotely achieve a comparable level of success. RIP.
 
I have fond memories of Coach M. He and Louie were a great pair. Class acts. R.I.P. Rollie.
 
" Unremarked upon in Saint John’s fan forums – where this Sunday morning I was treated to an amusing essay the gist of which was that negroes who play in the NBA go broke because they spend too much money tricking out their Escalades – was Rollie Massimino, who on Wednesday won the 800th game of his illustrious career when the Keiser University Seahawks defeated Trinity Baptist University 77-47, making the 82 year-old Massimino only the third active college basketball coach with 800 wins, Mike Scherwrenky and Jim Boeheim being the other two. And what a long strange trip it’s been. Massimino first coached at Stony Brook – the Seawolves, which almost brings him full circle but not quite – in 1969. Despite having no college coaching experience and being a Rutgers graduate he had immediate success, going 34 and 14 in two years before moving on to Villanova University after a year as an assistant to former Piston coach Chuck Daly, then at Pennsylvania University. Massimino won 300 plus games at Villanova in 19 years, including an improbable national championship in 1985, the year Saint John’s made its only final four in the modern era and its first since Democrats elected former Ku Klux Klan member Harry Truman president of the United States. It turns out that that championship was the apex of Massimino’s career – and the glory from that dimmed somewhat when it was revealed later that most of Massimino’s players were degenerate junkies who were snorting cocaine in the locker room at halftime. Massimino resigned from Villanova in 1992 to take the head coaching job at UNLV, where he was a respectable 35-21, but was fired after it was discovered that – in an ironic turn – Massimino was receiving payments under the table from the university president. After Nevada Massimino turned up at Cleveland State where he was a moribund 90 and 113 and where once again his players ran amok, forcing Massimino to resign amidst allegations of drug abuse, criminal behavior and academic fraud. In 2006 after a three year hiatus Massimino took the coaching job at Kaiser – then Northwood University, the Timberwolves, not the Seawolves – where his record stands at 245 and 61: he’s won 30 games three times, never lost more than 9 games in a season and made the NAIA tournament every year, including a loss a few years back in the national championship to powerhouse the Oregon Institute of Technology Hustlin’ Owls. Congratulations Rollie"

... and RIP

http://www.bigeastboards.com/?p=629
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“He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone.” Besides, he was Sicilian. Pass.
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Yeah actually I didn't cast any stones. I lauded - and I didn't bother to wait until he was dead - the career of a great coach while at the same time acknowledging his flaws, which all of us have, which is actually what the quote from the Baby Jesus means: that while we are all of us created in imitation of Yahweh none of us achieve His perfection.
 
At Rollie's funeral yesterday

[attachment]image-272.jpeg[/attachment]
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The only one in this group who's name is escaping me, is the guy between Raf and Mullin. I've seen him before, the name is just not coming to me.
 
At Rollie's funeral yesterday

[attachment]image-272.jpeg[/attachment]
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The only one in this group who's name is escaping me, is the guy between Raf and Mullin. I've seen him before, the name is just not coming to me.
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Great Shot. Hierarchy
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Photographer should not have yelled cheese. These guys were at a funeral.
 
At Rollie's funeral yesterday

[attachment]image-272.jpeg[/attachment]
Click to expand...

The only one in this group who's name is escaping me, is the guy between Raf and Mullin. I've seen him before, the name is just not coming to me.
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Frank Rienzo, former Georgetown AD
 
At Rollie's funeral yesterday

[attachment]image-272.jpeg[/attachment]
Click to expand...

The only one in this group who's name is escaping me, is the guy between Raf and Mullin. I've seen him before, the name is just not coming to me.
Click to expand...


Great Shot. Hierarchy
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Looking at that photo, to me it's kind of clear that there is a brotherhood among the schools that built the Big East out of dust to be one of the best conferences in America. Even Boeheim made sure he was there.
 
At Rollie's funeral yesterday

[attachment]image-272.jpeg[/attachment]
Click to expand...

The only one in this group who's name is escaping me, is the guy between Raf and Mullin. I've seen him before, the name is just not coming to me.
Click to expand...


Great Shot. Hierarchy
Click to expand...
Photographer should not have yelled cheese. These guys were at a funeral.
Click to expand...

Agree that it was a very somber, sad occasion, but I would have loved to have gone out to dinner with these guys. All I would do is sit back and listen to all the great stories they probably all have about Coach Rollie and each other.
 
At Rollie's funeral yesterday

[attachment]image-272.jpeg[/attachment]
Click to expand...

The only one in this group who's name is escaping me, is the guy between Raf and Mullin. I've seen him before, the name is just not coming to me.
Click to expand...


Great Shot. Hierarchy
Click to expand...
Photographer should not have yelled cheese. These guys were at a funeral.
Click to expand...
I get what your saying but I think its just a natural reaction to smile when taking a picture. At least that's what I tell my kids who never smile for any pics!
 
The guy between RAF and Chris is Frank Rienzo. Georgetown AD, Kaiser peer. My Latin 2 teacher at Molloy in 1961 / 1962. Very long time ago.
 
I get the first reaction of smiling for photo is odd but hopefully Rollie was looking down and smiling with them.

I'd much rather have a lot of familiar faces, who want to be there out of respect, smiling & remembering good times, than crying, dressed in black, siting in silence, or going through motions of just showing up etc.
 
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